How to Be a Victorian

Starred review from July 28, 2014
British social historian Goodman reveals what life was like in the Victorian era in a manner most readers have likely never encountered before: by personally subscribing to Victorian mores and way of life. Goodman’s impeccably researched account will raise readers’ eyebrows with her adventures “living history.” Along the way, she replicates an array of activities and behaviors: she creates and wears numerous styles of period clothing, tries out popular calisthenics for women and girls, uses 19th-century hygiene practices, adjusts to the discomfort of the corset, launders clothes laboriously by hand, and does much else. Goodman has meticulously documented the common Victorian man and woman, explaining practicalities, expenses, and rationales for their actions. For example, a popular scientific notion was that closed windows in rooms were unhealthy, so many people kept their windows open, even in freezing temperatures. Goodman’s charming guide richly illustrates what daily life was like for common people undergoing the massive social changes of the time and succeeds in presenting “a more intimate, personal and physical sort of history.” Illus.

September 15, 2014

Wake up. Place your feet on the cold floor. Next, quickly wash with water before venturing outside to the streets of London. It's a typical Victorian morning and Goodman, historian and presenter of the BBC documentary series Victorian Farm, aims to share it with readers. The author is an insightful escort to the past, having lived the Victorian life as closely as someone in the 21st century possibly can. In this title, Goodman uses personal experience, along with a wealth of delicate research, to take readers through everything involved in an average Victorian day, including brutal factory work, long train rides on uncomfortable seats, and hurried strolls through choking smog. Goodman skillfully creates a portrait of daily Victorian life with accessible, compelling, and deeply sensory prose. Her personal interjections say less about how the Victorians lived and more about how a modern woman would survive in the age of Queen Victoria, but Goodman's having conquered the corset and brushed her teeth with soot adds depth that isn't often seen in similar titles. VERDICT The material is compulsively readable, and a necessary addition to all collections with a focus on Victorian culture.--Erin Entrada Kelly, Media, PA

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